11,545 stories by "Trav S.D."
Sam Wood (1883-1949) was one of a long line of Marx Brothers' directors that Groucho liked to dis, but the reality doesn't support that scorn. Not only did Wood direct two of the team's bigg…
I floated this as a trial balloon a few months ago, and there seemed to be quite a lot of interest, so now I'm really doing it. New York area Travalanche fans! I'm offering two private vaude…
A tribute to today international comedy sensation Marty Feldman (1934-1948). A Cockney Jew with a broken nose and bulging, staring eyes, one of which was wildly out of alignment, it's no mys…
Winston-Salem native Milt Britton (19894-1948) started playing his horn in vaudeville circa 1914. Three years later he formed a musical duo (trombone and cornet) with Frank Wetzel (1892-1…
Raymond Hatton (1887-1971) enjoyed rather an amazing career for someone whose profile is so low today. He amassed over 400 screen credits on over 50 years in the business, and figures especi…
I first noticed Marie McDonald (Cora Marie Frye, 1923-65) in her last film, Tommy Noonan's Promises! Promises! (1963), in which she is presented rather cruelly as over-the-hill, an unappe…
The Peerless Annabelle (1878-1961) performed under two separate professional names: Annabelle Moore (the surname of her stepfather, who was also her agent and manager), and Annabelle Whitfor…
Well this is no less than our fourth post about a catastrophic conflagration, counting the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, the Iroquois Theatre Fire, and the Barnum's Five Fi…
Plus-sized silent screen comedienne Sunshine Hart (Lucia May Adams, 1886-1930) appeared in 80 films over a period of 14 years. Originally from Indiana, she performed with stock companies and…
Jefferson Machamer (1900-1960) was an illustrator and cartoonist who specialized in depicting (and gently satirizing) glamorous women. Originally from Nebraska, he worked briefly for the Kan…
Silent screen actress Bessie Eyton (Bessie Harrison, 1890-1965) is best remembered, to the extent that she is, for playing the female lead in the 1914 version of The Spoilers, and in the 191…
I had intended to do a post on Mad Magazine on some upcoming birthday of William Gaines, the magazine's heroic publisher. But Gaines rates his own post and his legacy was greater than Mad, a…
We're coming up on the 50th anniversary of Woodstock; seems like the right year for a tribute to forgotten rock blues genius Alan Wilson (1943-1970). Most people who think they don't know wh…
I just received the sad news that author, critic, and one-of-a-kind New York character Ward Morehouse III has passed away, at the age of 73. He was the kind of public figure who mattered a g…
We don't usually devote such concentrated attention to another author's books, but in the case of Randy Skretvedt, one of the world's pre-eminent Laurel and Hardy experts, we'll make an exce…
What a terrific way to start the new month! I had a terrific conversation with Austin Tichenor of the world-famous Reduced Shakespeare Company this morning, for their podcast. The company is…
 Do you remember Toma (1973-74)? I do. I was just a kid, but I watched all the cop shows, and this was a successful one. Tony Musante (1936-2013) played real-life Newark cop David Toma, …
Your grandparents (or great-grandparents) might be dumbfounded to learn that a showbiz figure as major as Ed Gardner (Edward Poggenberg, 1901-1963) and a show as popular as Duffy's Tavern (1…
Comedian and impressionist John Byner (John Biener, b. 1938) reached his peak of visibility when I was a kid in the 1970s. Like his rough contemporaries Rich Little and Frank Gorshin he had …
Our new edition of the American Vaudeville Theatre opens in just two days. We're sort of doing a soft open on this li'l experiment, but some old friends have given us some nice attention all…
Josef Swickard (Peter Josef Schwickerath, 1866-1940) seems like a really unlikely guy to have wound up in in a lot of silent slapstick comedies. Just look at him! The aristocratic looking Co…
You can tell that someone is a silent comedy geek " as opposed to just a silent movie geek " if they know Ernest Torrence (1878-1933) primarily as Buster Keaton's rough, tough riverboa…
Lynne Carter (ca. 1924-1985) was one of the more prominent female impersonators of the late 20th century. Originally from Cleveland, Carter served in the navy in World War Two. In show busin…
For some reason (his personality, I guess, sort of aggressive, sort of macho), I remember Jack Carter (Jack Chakrin, 1922-2015) as a TALL man. I would said 6'4″. I did a little refresh…
This coming Saturday, June 29, 8pm: I am pleased to report the return of the American Vaudeville Theatre Classic, coming to Under St. Marks . What do I mean by "classic"? Well, somethi…
